Content distribution system and method

ABSTRACT

A content distribution system is described. The content distribution system includes a show account database and a plurality of credit cards stored in the show account database. The content distribution system also has a linking module associating a viewer entering the call-in number with a credit card number in the show account database. The system has a charge module that charges a credit card account corresponding to the credit card number associated with a viewer entering the call-in number. The system also has an interactive recognition system that provides a qualifying question for the viewer to answer before a call of the viewer is connected to a studio.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a content distribution system and method.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Television (TV) content, as is commonly known, is provided over cablenetworks or the airwaves as radio frequency waves to TV sets in thehomes of viewers. Viewers are sometimes allowed to interact with apresenter. In a quiz show, a presenter may ask a series of livequestions, and invite viewers to call a call-in number and answer aquestion. A content provider may wish to obtain revenue from viewers whoventure to provide an answer. Telephone networks in most countriesprovide for numbers to be called where an account of the person makingthe call is charged, and the revenue be applied to an account of theperson receiving the call. In the United States, these numbers aretypically 1-900 numbers. 1-900 numbers have obtained a reputation asbeing related to morally questionable activities, and many viewers willrefrain from calling such a number.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a content distribution system that includes astudio set having an area for a presenter to be located, at least onecamera positionable to capture a scene at the area where the presenteris to be located, a transmission system connected to the camera, thetransmission system having hardware required to transmit the scenecaptured by the camera to a plurality of remote locations, to be viewedby viewers on screens located at the remote locations, and having thecapability to transmit a call-in number to the plurality of remotelocations, a call-receiving system, connected to at least one telephonenetwork, to receive a call from at least one of the viewers entering thecall-in number, and a speaker, at least in proximity to the studio set,connected to the call-receiving system, to allow the call to go throughto the presenter at the studio set.

The distribution system may have a show account database, a plurality ofcredit card numbers stored in the show account database, a linkingmodule associating the viewer entering the call-in number with a creditcard number in the show account database, and a charge module thatcharges a credit card account corresponding to the credit card numberassociated with the viewer entering the call-in number.

The transmission system may be a TV broadcast system.

The content distribution system may further include an interactiverecognition system connected to the call-receiving system.

The interactive recognition system may include a new account-creatingmodule that prompts the viewer to enter a credit card number, receivesthe credit card number, and stores the credit card number in the showaccount database.

The content distribution system may further include a calleridentification system that identifies the viewer as having previouslystored a credit card number in the show account database, or not havingpreviously stored a credit card number in the show account database, theinteractive recognition system only prompting the viewer to enter thecredit card number if the credit card number is not present in the showaccount database.

The interactive recognition system may prompt the viewer to enter a PINnumber if the credit card number is in the show account database.

The credit card account is preferably not charged until after the viewerenters the PIN number.

The content distribution system may further include an aggregationmodule, multiple charges to the credit card account being charged on aday that is delayed from a day that the viewer enters the call-innumber.

The content distribution system may further include a selection modulethat selects one of multiple viewers dialing the call-in number, onlythe call of the one viewer who is selected being transferred through tothe studio set.

The interactive recognition system may include a preselection modulethat provides a qualifying question to a viewer, receives a qualifyingguess from the viewer, compares the qualifying guess to a question modelanswer, and either progresses the call to the studio set or ends thecall based on said comparison of the qualifying guess with a questionmodel answer.

The invention also provides a method of distributing content, whichincludes capturing a scene including a presenter on a studio set,utilizing at least one camera, transmitting the scene from the camera toa plurality of remote locations, to be viewed on screens located at theremote locations, transmitting a call-in number to the plurality ofremote locations, receiving a call from at least one of the viewersentering the call-in number over at least one telephone network, linkingthe viewer entering the call-in number with a credit card number in ashow account database, charging a credit card account corresponding tothe credit card number with the viewer entering the call-in number, andputting the call through to a speaker to be heard by the presenter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is further described by way of example with reference tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a content distribution system, according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a table illustrating fields in a show account database of thesystem;

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating fields in an aggregation module of thesystem; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating how the system works.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings illustrates a content distributionsystem 10, according to an embodiment of the invention, including a showrecording and broadcasting system 12, a call management system 14, andan account management system 16.

The show recording and broadcasting system 12 includes a studio set 18,a TV camera 20, a TV broadcast transmission system 22, a plurality ofTVs 24A, 24B, and 24C, and a plurality of viewers 26A, 26B, and 26C.

The studio set 18 has a podium area 28 and a microphone 30. A presenter32 can be positioned on the podium area 28. The microphone 30 issufficiently close to the presenter 32 to pick up speech from thepresenter 32.

The TV camera 20 is located just outside the studio set. The TV camera20 can capture a live picture and is positionable to capture a scenethat includes the presenter 32 at the podium area 28.

The TV camera 20 and the microphone 30 are both connected to the TVbroadcast transmission system 22. The TV broadcast transmission system22 includes hardware and software that transmits a signal of the imagecaptured by the TV camera 20 and sound from the microphone 30 to theTV's 24A, 24B, and 24C. Signals may, for example, be transmitted over acable network or over the airwaves. Although TV broadcasting isdescribed, it is also envisioned that the invention may find applicationin other forms of signal transmission, for example over the Internet, toa plurality of computer systems.

Each TV 24A, 24B, and 24C has a screen 34 and a speaker 36. The imagecaptured by the TV camera 20 is displayed in real time on the screens34, and a sound signal picked up by the microphone 30 creates sound inreal time out of the speakers 36. The viewers 26A, 26B, and 26C in frontof the TVs 24A, 24B, and 24C can see the presenter 32 on the screens 34and hear the presenter 32 through the speakers 36 in real time.

The call management system 14 includes a plurality of telephones 40A,40B, and 40C, a call-receiving system 42, a caller identification system44, and an interactive recognition system 46.

Each one of the telephones 40A, 40B, and 40C is located in the home of arespective one of the viewers 26A, 26B, and 26C. The telephones 40A,40B, and 40C are connected over at least one telephone network to thecall-receiving system 42. The telephones 40A, 40B, and 40C may, forexample, be conventional land-line telephones or cellular telephones,and may be connected through one or more land-line networks or one ormore cellular networks to the call-receiving system 42.

The caller identification system 44 is connected to the call-receivingsystem 42. A caller identification system can recognize a telephonenumber of a telephone from which it is receiving a call. Calleridentification systems are known in the art, and are not describedherein in detail.

The interactive recognition system 46 is connected to the calleridentification system 44. The interactive recognition system 46 is acomputer system that can interact with a caller and progress a callerthrough a menu. The caller may use a dial pad of a telephone to interactwith the interactive recognition system 46, and/or the interactiverecognition system 46 may be programmed to recognize voice commands. Theinteractive recognition system 46 includes a new-account creating module48. A future embodiment of the interactive recognition system 46 mayalso include a preselection module 50. The interactive recognitionsystem 46 also includes a time-based selection module 52

The account management system 16 includes a show account database 54, alinking module 56, an aggregation module 58, and a plurality of creditcard accounts 60A and 60B.

FIG. 2 illustrates the contents of the show account database 54 in moredetail. The show account database 54 has fields for caller ID number;credit card number; expiration date; and four-digit PIN number. Eachrespective caller ID number has one credit card number, expiration date,and four-digit PIN number associated therewith.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the linking module 56 is connected betweenthe caller identification system 44 and the show account database 54.The linking module 56 can perform a look-up operation of a respectivecaller ID number corresponding to a caller ID number detected by thecaller identification system 44. The linking module 56 is used todetermine whether a respective account exists in the show accountdatabase corresponding to the caller ID number detected by the calleridentification system 44. The linking module 56, after performing thelook-up, can extract the credit card number, expiration date, andfour-digit PIN number corresponding to a respective caller ID number inthe show account database 54. The interactive recognition system 46 isconnected to the linking module 56, so that the interactive recognitionsystem 46 can determine the validity of a four-digit PIN entered by aviewer and an expiration date of a credit card housed in the showaccount database 54.

The aggregation module 58 is connected to the show account database 54and to the interactive recognition system 46. FIG. 3 illustrates showaccounts in the aggregation module 58. The aggregation module 58includes fields for credit card number, date, and amount. Theaggregation module 58 is used to extract a credit card number from theshow account database, aggregate charges against the respective creditcard number, and periodically (e.g., every 30 days) charge a respectivecredit card account 60A or 60B with all the charges against the creditcard number. The credit card accounts 60A and 60B may be credit cardaccounts such as VISA® or MasterCard® accounts located off-site.

The studio set 18 further has a speaker 62 connected to the interactiverecognition system 46. The interactive recognition system 46 cantransfer a call received thereby through to the speaker 62. The speaker62 is in proximity to the presenter 32. The presenter 32 can listen tothe call while an image and voice of the presenter 32 is beingbroadcast.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1 and 3 in combination. In use, recordingand live broadcasting is initiated (102). The camera 20 is positioned soas to capture a scene that includes the presenter 32 at the podium area28, and speech from the presenter 32 is picked up and converted to avoice signal by the microphone 30. Image and voice signals aretransmitted by the TV broadcast transmission system 22 to the TVs 24A,24B, and 24C, and the viewers 26A, 26B, and 26C view the presenter 32 onthe screens 34 and can hear the presenter through the speakers 36 inreal time.

Successive live questions are then broadcast (104). The presenter 32typically has a stack of cards, each containing a respective question.The presenter 32 reads the question from one card, and a sound signal ofthe question is transmitted to the viewers 26A, 26B, and 26C.

A 1-800 call-in number is then broadcast (106). The 1-800 call-in numberis typically spoken by the presenter 32, to be heard by the viewers 26A,26B, and 26C. The TV broadcast transmission system 22 also causes thedisplay of the 1-800 call-in number on the screens 34 to be viewed bythe viewers 26A, 26B, and 26C. The presenter 32 then prompts the viewers26A, 26B, and 26C to call the 1-800 call-in number to submit an answerto the question for purposes of potentially winning a prize. 1-800call-in numbers are widely accepted and by themselves are free of chargein the United States.

Some of the viewers (e.g., viewer 26C) subsequently call the 1-800call-in number (108) using the respective telephones 40A, 40B, and 40C.The call-receiving system 42 receives the calls. The calleridentification system 44 identifies each caller as either a repeatcaller or a first-time caller (110). The caller identification system 44extracts a caller ID number from data that is transmitted together withthe call. The linking module 56 determines whether the caller ID numberextracted from the call is listed as one of the caller ID numbers in theshow account database 54 shown in FIG. 2. If the viewer 26C is a repeatcaller (112), the call is transferred to the interactive recognitionsystem 46. The interactive recognition system 46 then prompts the viewer26C to enter a four-digit PIN number, and the viewer 26C subsequentlyenters a four-digit PIN number (114). The interactive recognition system46 then compares the four-digit PIN number entered by the viewer 26Cwith the four-digit PIN number corresponding to the caller ID number ofthe respective viewer 26C in the show account database 54.

If the four-digit PIN number entered by the viewer 26C is the same asthe four-digit PIN number in the show account database 54, a showaccount in the aggregation module 58 is charged $0.99. The show accountincludes fields for the credit card number that is charged, and allcharges that have been made against the respective credit card number(116). All charges recorded in the aggregation module 58 are postedagainst respective credit card accounts 60A and 60B on a periodic basis,for example within every 30 days (118).

If the viewer 26C is a first-time caller (122), the interactiverecognition system 46 prompts the viewer 26C to enter a credit cardnumber, and the viewer 26C enters a credit card number (124). Theinteractive recognition system 46 then prompts the viewer 26C to enter acredit card expiration date, and the viewer 26C enters a credit cardexpiration date (126). The interactive recognition system 46 thenprompts the viewer 26C to enter a four-digit PIN number, and the viewerenters a four-digit PIN number (128). The interactive recognition system46 then creates a new show account in the show account database 54(130). The new show account has a caller ID number corresponding to thecaller ID number identified by the caller identification system 44, andthe credit card number, expiration date, and four-digit PIN numberentered by the viewer.

In the case where the viewer is a first-time caller (122), the call thenprogresses in the same manner as when the viewer 26C is a repeat caller(112), except that the show account of the first-time caller 122 is notcharged. A viewer who is a first-time caller is thus allowed to make onefree call.

In a second generation of the system 10, the interactive recognitionsystem 46 subsequently asks the viewer a qualifying question (134). Theinteractive recognition system 46 may be one system or separate systems.In the case of separate systems, the first system may handle credit cardinformation, and the second system, the qualifying question. The viewerthen provides a qualifying guess to the qualifying question (136). Thequalifying guess may, for example, be entered on a dial pad of thetelephone 40A, 40B, or 40C, or the interactive recognition system 46 maybe programmed to recognize a spoken qualifying guess from the viewer.The interactive recognition system 46 then compares the qualifying guessto a qualifying question model answer to the qualifying question (138).In the case where the qualifying guess is not the same as the qualifyingquestion model answer to the qualifying question, i.e., in the case ofan incorrect answer (140), the interactive recognition system 46notifies the viewer 26C that the qualifying guess is incorrect (142).The interactive recognition system 46 then ends the call (144).

In the case where the qualifying guess is the same as the qualifyingquestion model answer to the qualifying question, i.e., when the viewerhas provided a correct answer (146), the interactive recognition system46 connects the call of the viewer 26C to the time-based selectionmodule 52. The time-based selection module 52 also has lines connectedfrom other viewers (e.g., viewer 26B) who have progressed as far as theviewer 26C in question. In a first generation of the system 10, nopreselection module 50 will be provided; calls are transferred directlyafter a show account is charged in 166 or a show account is created in130 to the time-based selection module. The time-based selection moduledrops a call if the call has been connected thereto for five seconds(150). If a viewer, e.g., viewer 26C, is not selected (152), thetime-based selection module notifies the viewer 26C and ends the call(154; 144).

If a viewer, e.g., viewer 26B, is selected within five seconds (156),the call of the viewer 26B is transferred to the studio set 18 (158).The call of the selected viewer 26B is played by the speaker 62 to allowthe presenter 32 to interact with the viewer 26B. The viewer 26B is thengiven the opportunity to provide a live guess to the live questionprovided by the presenter 32 in 104 (160). The presenter 32 thencompares the live guess to a model answer on the card in front of thepresenter 32. If the live guess is the same as the answer on the card,the presenter 32 notifies the viewer 26B that the answer is correct andthat the viewer 26B is eligible for a prize. By contrast, if the liveguess is incorrect, the presenter 32 so notifies the viewer 26B.

The viewer in the example of FIG. 3 creates a show account database bymaking a call. It may also be possible that the viewer may create a showaccount database in another manner. For example, the viewer may create ashow account database by mailing an entry form. The viewer mayalternatively create a show account database over the Internet. AnInternet-based system will have a form that can be viewed on a browserand that can be filled out and be submitted by the viewer.

A viewer may also make use of an alternate means of entry than thefirst-time caller/repeat caller system of FIG. 3. In an alternate meansof entry, the viewer may submit a postcard to an address that isprovided, and receive a PIN number, for example, a five-digit PINnumber, in return. The viewer can then call the 1-800 number as in 108,and enter the five-digit PIN number when prompted. The viewer's callwill then be connected as if the show account is charged in 116, butwithout charging the viewer. Further handling of the call will be thesame as described in FIG. 3.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative and not restrictive of the current invention, andthat this invention is not restricted to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described since modifications may occur to thoseordinarily skilled in the art.

1. A content distribution system, comprising: a studio set having an area for a presenter to be located; at least one camera positionable to capture a scene at the area where the presenter is to be located; a transmission system connected to the camera, the transmission system having hardware required to transmit the scene captured by the camera to a plurality of remote locations, to be viewed by viewers on screens located at the remote locations, and having the capability to transmit a call-in number to the plurality of remote locations; a show account database; a plurality of credit card numbers stored in the show account database; a call-receiving system, connected to at least one telephone network, to receive a call from at least one of the viewers entering the call-in number; a linking module associating the viewer entering the call-in number with a credit card number in the show account database; a charge module that charges a credit card account corresponding to the credit card number associated with the viewer entering the call-in number; and a speaker, at least in proximity to the studio set, connected to the call-receiving system, to allow the call to go through to the presenter at the studio set.
 2. The content distribution system of claim 1, wherein the transmission system is a TV broadcast system.
 3. The content distribution system of claim 1, further comprising an interactive recognition system connected to the call-receiving system.
 4. The content distribution system of claim 3, wherein the interactive recognition system includes a new account-creating module that: prompts the viewer to enter a credit card number; receives the credit card number; and stores the credit card number in the show account database.
 5. The content distribution system of claim 4, further comprising a call identification system that identifies the viewer as having previously stored a credit card number in the show account database or not having previously stored a credit card number in the show account database, the interactive recognition system only prompting the viewer to enter the credit card number if the credit card number is not present in the show account database.
 6. The content distribution system of claim 5, wherein the interactive recognition system prompts the viewer to enter a pin number if the credit card number is in the show account database.
 7. The content distribution system of claim 6, wherein the credit card account is not charged until after the viewer enters the pin number.
 8. The content distribution system of claim 1, further comprising an aggregation module, multiple charges to the credit card account being charged on a day that is delayed from a day that the viewer enters the call-in number.
 9. The content distribution system of claim 1, further comprising a selection module that selects one of multiple viewers dialing the call-in number, only the call of the one viewer who is selected being transferred through to the show recording studio.
 10. The content distribution system of claim 3, wherein the interactive recognition system includes a preselection module that: provides a qualifying question to the viewer; receives a qualifying guess from the viewer; compares the qualifying guess to a question model answer; and either progresses the call to the studio set or ends the call based on said comparison of the qualifying guess with the question model answer.
 11. A content distribution system, comprising: a studio set having an area for a presenter to be located; at least one camera positionable to capture a scene at the area where the presenter is to be located; a transmission system connected to the camera, the transmission system having hardware required to transmit the scene captured by the camera to a plurality of remote locations, to be viewed by viewers on screens located at the remote locations, and having the capability to transmit a call-in number to the plurality of remote locations; a call-receiving system, connected to at least one telephone network, to receive a call from at least one of the viewers calling the call-in number; an interactive recognition system that includes a preselection module that provides a qualifying question to the viewer, receives a qualifying guess from the viewer, compares the qualifying guess to a question model answer, and either progresses the call to the studio set or ends the call based on said comparison of the qualifying guess with the question model answer; and a speaker, at least in proximity to the studio set, connected to the interactive recognition system, to allow the call to go through to the presenter at the studio set.
 12. A method of distributing content, comprising: capturing a scene including a presenter on a studio set, utilizing at least one camera; transmitting the scene from the camera to a plurality of remote locations, to be viewed on screens located at the remote locations; transmitting a call-in number to the plurality of remote locations; receiving a call from at least one of the viewers entering the call-in number over at least one telephone network; linking the viewer entering the call-in number with a credit card number in a show account database; charging a credit card account corresponding to the credit card number with the viewer entering the call-in number; and putting the call through to a speaker to be heard by the presenter. 